Preparing Children in Africa for a Fast-Changing World with Ms Shirley Eadie, Ms Salome Wenyaa, and Ms Hana Yoshimoto

The world is undergoing rapid changes across multiple sectors, driven by trends such as digitalization, migration, automation, and societal polarization, among others. This volatile and uncertain context presents society with complex and interconnected social, economic, environmental, and political challenges. These circumstances require a broad range of social, emotional, and cognitive competencies to successfully navigate and transform the world for a more just and sustainable future. In this context, there is growing recognition of the integral role that education can play in enabling young people to fulfill their individual potential and aspirations, to think critically about the world in which they live, and to participate meaningfully in society as empathetic, ethical citizens with a concern for the ‘common good’.

In this episode, we are joined by Shirley, Salome, and Hana, who will share their experiences in developing a breadth of skills in students across Kenya, South Africa and other countries in that region, to better prepare them for the fast-changing world. Shirley will provide insights into efforts by the South African Education Ministry to incorporate a breadth of skills more deliberately and systematically in the taught curriculum in schools. Salome will share lessons learned in Kenya, following their transition to a competency-based curriculum in 2017. Hana will share how UNICEF is working in the region to collaborate with countries in designing and implementing the Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) framework.

More about our guests below the video

https://youtu.be/BuXmc_IUGFI

Episode Guests

Shirley Eadie (South Africa)

Shirley Eadie founded and leads the EdHub, the Education Innovation Unit at the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT ). Shirley is a technical advisor to the Department of Basic Education on their integration of skills and competencies for a changing world in basic education.

Shirley has an M.Ed in International Education Policy from Harvard University. Her career has focused on education innovation and research. Prior to her work in education, she was founder and CEO of Pondering Panda - Africa’s first quantitative mobile research company, and was Business and Research Director of Instant Grass International, ethnographic youth research agency.

Salome Wenyaa (Kenya)

Salome Wenyaa is a Regional Director Quality and Standards, Nairobi Ministry of Education, state Department of Basic Education, Kenya. Salome is an expert in ECDE, Kiswahili, National Master Trainer of Trainers in Competency Based curriculum and Seasoned Quality Assurance and Standards.

Salome has M.A Kiswahili and B.ed Arts from Kenyatta University. Her career has had a great impact in education through policy development and dissemination. Before joining civil service, Salome was a teacher as well as an examiner. Besides Education, Salome together with other stakeholders in resolving conflict and conserving the environment, mother 🌎

Hana Yoshimoto (UNICEF, South Africa)

Hana is Chief of Education at UNICEF South Africa, overseeing programmes related to Early Childhood Development, Quality, and Youth Skills Development. She is a former Regional Chief of Education at UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States and co-authored “COVID-19 Learning Losses: Rebuilding Quality Learning for All in the Middle East and North Africa” – a joint report by UNESCO, The World Bank, and UNICEF. Before UNESCO, she served as Chief Education at UNICEF Egypt and Somalia and as an Education Analyst at The World Bank HQ.

Hana holds an M.A. in International Education and recently completed her Executive MBA at TRIUM Global EMBA Programme

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